Tata Tele to invest about Rs 10,000 cr for GSM operations

With plans to invest about Rs 10,000 crore this year to expand its network in the country, Tata Docomo, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices, today announced commercial launch of its operations in Orissa. "We plan to invest two billion dollars (about Rs 10,000 crore) for our GSM pan-Indian services, while about Rs 350 crore investment is planned for Orissa this year," managing director of Tata Teleservices Anil Sardana said at the launch of the GSM service here. Promising one paisa per second for all calls - locals and STD, he said the company's next gen GSM service with an aggressive back to back roll out plan started its GSM service in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa covering a total a total of 20847 towns and villages. Tata Docomo's pan-Indian service rollout would be completed this year, with south Indian circles going live first followed by circles in east, west and northern region, Sardana said adding "subscribers will now be able to enjoy the benefits of 'pay as you use'. The company also announced the introduction of the 'pay as you use' advantage for many of its value added services, including all its voice portals, 24-hour music, cricket commentary and voice chat.